Left Alone
by ZoeyinMay
Summary: Nick's focus on life has changed, he is searching for his past. He finds something completely different, something he thought he never wanted. ZoeyXNick  Rated M for strong language and sexual themes.
1. Walk of a lifetime

**I wrote this a while ago... I hope you guys like it as much as I liked writing it.**

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**.**

Paranoid is a understatement. Zoey sat under a table, her only jacket shredded to cover a nasty bite she had received a few hours ago. That's what happens when you fall asleep. I have to stay awake… they'll come. She was covered in guts, but it kept the Zombies away. As long as she smelled like them, they may leave her alone now. She shook her head. No.. no they will always come back. She stared at Bill's dead body only a thirty feet away. She felt tears stinging the back of her eyes.

"I'll miss you so much…" She rubbed her legs to get some feeling into them. Reloading one of the many pistols she had laid out, she waited.

* * *

Nick wandered the empty streets, kicking a lonely rock that was in the path. This is what his life felt like now. He was a little lonely rock, being kicked around by fate. He clenched his teeth. This was stupid. He would find them. He just need to look harder. His family was somewhere.

Slinging his jacket over his shoulder, Nick caught up to Coach and Rochelle who were boarding up the new safe house for the night.

"Hey, I picked up some more food. It should last us a few more days." He tossed a garbage bag to the floor. The bag mostly full of canned veggies and beans.

"Good thing this place gots a can opener." Ellis jumped downstairs, skipping several steps at the bottom.

"I was wondering when you be back. It's been several hours, man." Ellis said as he started digging through the bag. Nick threw his white jacket on the chair, and proceeded to pull out a cigarette, lighting it.

He was so sick of this heat. Its been half a year since the infection hit. He's traveled south, in search of his family. He was only looking for them now, considering nothing else seemed to matter. Nobody cared who, or what you were. Simple fact was this, everyone wanted something from you. Your guns, your food, your…pride. He was lucky enough to fight off most. But it was still tough. He was in the business of manipulating people. It's what he did; _did_ being the key word, or at least he's trying not to do it anymore. Now that he found a group that wants to work together, he won't mess it up by making them suspicions of him. The worst thing that had happened to him was losing a case of water, and some chips. Big bastards came to his safe house, busting open the door. Some shaved tattooed white dude, and a matching black guy. He was not going to get killed over that. He had more stashed in the back. He would sacrifice it. Hiding several feet away, he chilled in the bushes until they left.

"Hey. Don't you want something to eat hun?" Rochelle was always nice to him, but he felt indifferent about her. He was respectful towards her, and helped protect the group as a whole, but beyond that…he could give a crap less.

"I'm fine. Thanks anyways." He unbutton the top button in an attempt to get some more cool air on his overheated chest. Even with people eating each other, he wasn't going to give up his sense of style. He laughed at himself, flicking the ashes on the floor. _**Style. Like anyone gives a shit.**_

"You find something funny, boy?" Coach walked up with a bowl of baked beans, thrusting his hand out at him. Without answering, Nick took the bowl and ate the cold can good. Even though he told them he wasn't going to eat. It was hard to say no with the food right in front of his face.

Coach must not of expected an answer, because he walked away heading upstairs. Nick finished his beans pretty quickly, tossing his bowl in the sink. Nobody was going to clean them anyways. He may as well just thrown the dishes outside.

Ellis could be heard from across the room, sloppily eating his portion of beans. Nick actually found Ellis enjoyable to be around. Maybe it was because everyone knew, even with all his other faults, that kid was dependable. Hell, all of them had their merits. Rochelle was their mother. Or at least the other two. He wasn't in the mood for her coddling. Coach was a hell of a good leader. Nick could have been one, but it will be easier to break away if he isn't the leader. So he took trivial tasks of the group, getting food every once in a while, shit like that. He was even able to keep good relations with any other survivors that they passed by. Like a diplomat maybe. Nick was soon snickering at himself again.

"Nick, if you happen to go out again, is there any way you could pick up some chocolate?" She looked hopeful.

"I'll try." He took the last drag of his cigarette, and tossed it on the floor.

"Night Rochelle. See ya in the morning." He laid on the floor, back against the wall, shoes on and everything.

"Goodnight Nick." She turned towards Ellis. "Come on hunny, we're going to bed." He peered out of his eye to see Ellis licking his bowl. That boy was like a damn dog sometimes. He let out a long sigh. _**Weird fucking people.

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**.**

Nick was jarred awake, like almost every morning, by some crazy asshole screaming in the doorway.

"PLEASE! For the love of God, let me IN!" Nick peered up and could tell right away the man was crazed from the infection. Half his face was a greenish tint, and he was drooling all over the window of the door. Nick slowly got up, in no hurry to kill the man.

"You know we can't do that, old man." He kept his voice calm.

"Why the FUCK not?" A inhuman growl escaped his mouth. He shook his head as if to get the whole idea of it off of him.

"That's why, you crazy bastard. If you come in here, you'll try to kill us." By this point Coach was up, standing next to him.

"Mister… you need to leave. We don't wanna kill you." His voice was calming, but Nick knew it wouldn't matter. He won't leave.

"But…it smells so good in THERE! What are you cooking?" He began gnawing on the bars, spitting green drool all over door.

"Nothing." Coach looked slightly confused.

"You smell us, old man. Your turning." Nick picked up the shotgun. The quickest way to kill the poor animal. Checking to make sure it was loaded, he snapped it back into place.

"I'll tell you again, mister. You need to leave." Coach gave the man a sidelong glance. Like he was going to walk away any minute.

The stranger just kept gnawing on the bars, making a gurgling noises. "Tasty, tasty…."

Nick brought the gun to his shoulder. "This sucks, Coach." And fired.

**.**

Nick had been called every name in the book. He was a thief, heartless ass, monster, the list goes on and on. But he never liked killing people. Even crazed half zombies. He did all the things people called him. He left women heartbroken, telling them he loved them and that he would gain their money back that they gave him for some illegal investment. Saying he would risk the rest of his freedom to make them happy. Then he'd run off with their money. No guilt, what-so-ever. Now that he stared into death's black empty eyes every day, he was feeling a change of heart. It was payback, that was the only possible reason in his mind that this was happening at all. Zombies, right out of a horror film.

It was bright out, but with enough cloud cover that it was so unbelievably hot today. Coach and Rochelle stood over a map in the middle of the floor, circling places with a pen.

"Here. This is where we should head next. It will be safer than where we are now. This place is crawling with infected." Rochelle seemed pretty confident. Nick peered over her shoulder. Yes, he needed to head to New Orleans. That was the last known location of his sister. He was more than desperate to find someone, but his sister was at the top of his list. She was the only one who didn't write him off.

"Yes, I agree." Nick simply commented. If they didn't go there, he would have to go on his own. And he hoped he wouldn't have to go alone.

"If you're sure, Ro. I'll follow you." Coach said each word slowly.

"Sounds good to me. As long as I get to kill some zombies, I don't give`a shit." Ellis grinned ear to ear.

"Yea, well sounds good to me too, as long as I survive." Nick adjusted his new tie.

"Well duh, Nick. That's kinda already assumed." Ellis drawl annoyed Nick more than it should of.

Nick didn't even reply, just turned to the exit.

"Are we going or not?"

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**I guess I should finish my other story, before I get too caught up in this one...**


	2. The Damn Mall

**I like this pairing. I wish there was more of it. Enjoy. :D**

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Nick's AK was securely placed in the crook of his arm, the arm strap looped around his other shoulder. He was taking lead, Coach taking rear. The rhythm of their footsteps was like a song, at least the only rhythm they've heard in months. He could even hear someone humming in the background. Nick caught himself from whistling. This wasn't a fun ride; they'd almost lost Rochelle to a hunter not even an hour ago.

Nick spotted several common infected by a doorway. He pulled out his pistol with his free hand and aimed. Shooting two of them quickly, he was able to pick of the others as they ran towards him. The last one was able to survive a couple gun shots to the torso, and now he was too close to shoot. The others behind held fire, not wanting to shoot their comrade. Nick swung around when the zombie got close, bringing the butt of his gun onto the top of his head, breaking the mushy skull open.

"Son of a bitch…" Nick almost vomited at the sight of zombie brains on his pistol. Wiping it off on Ellis (when he was preoccupied with talking to Rochelle) he took point again.

The others picked off a few more infected as they walked by, but for the most part, the street was dead. Ellis was goofing around with his new baseball bat that he picked up.

"BAM. Thatta show you!"

"Ellis, sweetie, can you not swing that around so close to us? You're gonna smash my head in." Rochelle sounded strained.

"Yea, sorry Ro."

Trying not to laugh after seeing Rochelle's face, he turned back to the road ahead of him. Instead of an empty road, he made eye contact with a giant…woman? Her neck was as long as his forearm, with no lower jaw to speak of. She had bright green drool coming out of a hole in her cheek.

"Holy. Fucking. Shit." Nick pulled his AK up and unloaded into the huge zombie woman. She hit the ground within seconds, her body making a weird hissing noise. Nick kept his eyes on it, hoping to God it was done moving. The green slim that he had seen early in her mouth was now pooling around her body like blood would. Nick's eyes narrowed. Why did his mind always go to that?

The hissing didn't stop, and the woman's belly expanded suddenly. Everyone took several steps back, afraid it would explode in their faces. But something much worse happened.

The belly ripped open, the sound echoing in the street. A small zombie girl slowly emerged from thick green slime. She was covered in it, and she wore no clothing of any kind. Nobody moved for several seconds.

"What the fuck is that?" Ellis' eyes were as big as dinner plates as he leaned around Coach to get a better look.

An ear piercing scream rang out and the girl lunged for them. It had long talons for fingers, and its eyes were bright red.

"WITCH!" Nick jumped back, pushing Rochelle out of the way in the process.

Everyone split up, getting several feet in between each person. The witch stood in the middle, not moving anymore. Coach was frantically loading his shotgun, probably going to attempt to crown the witch. Nick was afraid that wouldn't work. He would have told Rochelle to fire up her chainsaw, but the noise would probably piss her off even more. He just hoped Coach could kill her instantly. Coach's hands were visibly shaking as he walked up to the witch. He raised the shotgun and shot his automatic right into her head and shoulders.

Its slimy body hit the road hard, the sound of bones cracking loud in the afternoon air.

"Jesus H Christ." Coach looked like he was going to become sick.

"Daaaammmmn, Coach. That was awesome." Ellis ran up throwing his arm around his shoulders, having to jump to do so.

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***.***

**-Later that afternoon—**

"Nick! Nick, Nick, Nick!"

"What?" Nick took a deep breath. "What is it Ellis?"

"There's a mall over there! Maybe we can fish out supplies?" They had retreated into an open patio dinner, attempting to find some water.

Nick didn't answer him, just glanced in the direction Ellis was pointing.

"A mall. Really?" Nick sounded agitated.

"Yea, reeeeaaallly" Ellis shook his head. "I worry `bout you some`imes Nick."

"The feelings mutual, trust me." Nick continued to un-jam his gun, feeling more and more pissed off as he was having difficulty.

"I think it's a good idea. We desperately need water and food. We haven't eaten all day." Rochelle was still hunched under a counter, digging through cabinets.

"It's also a death trap. If we happen to find something large in there, like… I dunno… a fucking Tank, we're screwed." Nick pulled out his last cigarette from his front pocket, lighting it.

"But we'll die for sure if we don't go." Coach said slowly. Nick reluctantly looked up at him.

"Fine. Let's get ready then. That mall is gonna be crawling with infected." Nick stood up, took a long drag of his cigarette, and finally yanked his jacket on.

"Alright… Rochelle, Ellis, you guys win. We'll go." The cigarette was held in place by his lips as Nick talked.

"I don't wanna to go, Nick. But we really don't ha`va choice." Ellis was obviously regretting his idea.

Nick ignored him and taking one more inhale, he put out his hardly touched cigarette and stuffed it back into his pocket. He's going to need it if they survive the mall.

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Running across highways are harder than one might think in the infected world. All the "special" infected seem to come out then. And that's also where the Tank normally shows up.

"Molotov coming! Everyone back off!" Coach's voice boomed across the street and Nick watched Rochelle pull off a full sprint towards the street. The Tank swung around in confusion, now completely engulfed in flames. Finally making out Ellis' form, it charged at him.

"Oh shit! `h Shit! I'm runnin boys!" He blindly fired off a few more shots as he ran. It's large hand wrapped around Ellis' waist just as Nick brought his ax down on the beast's back. With a loud growl, the Tank went down.

"Jesus that was a big one!" Rochelle ran up to help push the Tank's arm off of Ellis. He was pinned and trying to get out from under it.

"This thing smells like ass." Nick nudged it with his foot. It's flesh made a wet squishy noise. Ellis was hacking when he was finally on his feet.

"Let's get movin ya `all." Coach began walking down the street again.

Nick took point again, keeping his AK slung on his shoulder, and his pistol with the other hand. He needed to conserve his bullets. It was becoming harder to come by any ammunition.

They walked and walked, minutes turning into hours.

"Look! There it is!" Ellis jumped around like a five year old.

"Yea, yea. Keep your voice down kid." Nick grabbed his shoulder.

As they came closer to the entrance Nick knew this was a bad idea. The front was spray painted 'EVAC CENTER. CEDA'S COMING" CEDA hasn't showed up to save anyone in a long time.

"Bullshit. That's what this plan is, Bullshit."

"Shut up, Nick." Coach opened the front door, peering inside. "Nothing. I don't see any zombies."

"They're probably munching on the last survivors to come in here." Nick grumbled.

Coach ignored him and walked into the large open room. The mall lobby was torn to pieces. The chairs and tables all pushed up against broken windows, and small stands tipped onto their sides. Blood was wiped all over the walls, hunks of human beings piled into the corner.

"Guys..this is a real bad idea. We shouldda looked some`here else." Ellis was still standing at the foot of the steps.

"I hate the idea, but we have to. Come on tough guy, I thought you loved killing these sons-a-bitches?" Rochelle egged him on.

"Yea. Right. Alright, let's go then." He slowly walked towards the door. The door slammed behind them, blotting out most of the light.

From the bright sunlight, to almost none whatsoever, they all had a startling minute of being blind.

"Get close, everyone, back to back." Nick grabbed Ellis shoulder and stood next to him.

"Wait, our eyes will adjust." Nick felt Coach's back hit his and Rochelle's fast breathing next to him.

The few Zombies nearby heard the door, and came running. But the chances of friendly fire down to impossible, they all fired where the gurgling was heard.

"We gotta get moving. I can see pretty well." Coach began walking towards the center of the mall.

"Let's stay off the top floors as much as possible. It's only going to get us trapped." Nick was hoping they wouldn't argue with them.

"Alright, fair enough." Coach was the only one to answer him. They ran into a few zombies, but for the most part it was still empty.

Over a few hours, they ran into only three hunters and one smoker. A pretty good number considering how many are on the streets.

"This is too damn quiet… something awful is going to happen…" Her voice was startling against the silence. Not even seconds later, the horde hit them head on.

* * *

"Cooooach!" Nick shoved past several zombies to try to reach him. Coach was kneeling behind a table, shoved in a corner. Nick could hear a spitter somewhere on the top floor.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck… Ellis, where the hell are you?" Nick's lungs burned as he ran. The smoker had dragged him several feet, separating him from the group. Rochelle shot it, but that only broke the tongue. Taking his machete out, Nick sliced as many infected as he could reach. Gunshots rained out over the crazed screaming of the zombies.

Hoping to see some other teammates, he found Rochelle on the ground a dead charger a few feet away, and Ellis helping her out. Coach was slicing away with his ax. Who was still shooting? Confused, but still determined, Nick reached Coach and quickly regrouped with the other two.

"I swear guys! I heard gunshots, and nobody was firin`!" Ellis kept yelling while they were quickly reloading. Most of the horde was wiped out, finally giving them peace to reload.

"I did too, but how do you explain it? Maybe we fucked up our hearing during the horde, who knows? But I will not stay in here for a second longer, we need to get moving." Nick had a painful cut on his chest and it pissed him off that it ripped his blue shirt. Quickly finding out that a tie was a horrible idea, he yanked it off, shoving it into his pocket. A tie would work well in cutting off blood flow.

"I agree. We can't afford to look for survivors." Coach was already heading towards a small McDonald in search for food.

"Bull! We would`a never got this far if we didn't try to help people!" Ellis was furious.

"It isn't all about us, guys!" Rochelle was taking Ellis' side.

Nick took a deep breath. Of course… of-_fucking_-course they would want to waste what little time they had looking for some dead asshole that shot in the air before he died. Sighing, Nick gave up the fight.

"Fine. We'll look. But fast." He wasn't going to waste any time arguing. Rochelle ran towards some bodies stacked in the corner. Nick calmly walked toward the area where Coach had holed himself up at. Several bodies were stacked, but all were obviously dead. And probably had been for a long time.

Breathing through his mouth, Nick yanked some more bodies continuing the search. He could hear Ellis hacking and coughing.

"Breath through your mouth, moron." Nick snapped over his shoulder. If he keeps making that noise, it's going to trigger his gag reflex.

"Sorry…sorry." Ellis voice was the loudest noise in the whole area.

Nick stood, glancing around. _This is such a waste of time. We aren't going to get this sort of quiet opportunity to move again. _

Nick was beginning to think the group was more hurt then help when he noticed a strange pattern in the way the tables were turned and bodies were piled.

"What the…" He walked closer, coming to the first body on the floor. It was an older man, not too decayed yet. His white beard was actually trimmed, and he had army colors on. Nick just stood there, looking him over. He spotted a pipe bomb on him and instantly felt a jolt of excitement. _Finally! This will help._

He reached down to grab it when a shot rang out, hitting another dead body at Nick's feet.

"DON'T! …Don't… touch him…I MEAN IT" Nick felt frozen as the unfamiliar female voice screamed out. Nick crouched close to the floor, quickly glaring around. All the other survivors had dropped to the ground staring at him.

"Sweetheart, I won't touch him again." Nick's charm was instantly turned on. He didn't like using it, but he knew it was life or death for him. He finally found her face under a table, dirty and bruised.

"Just please leave Bill alone." She closed her eyes, apparently sure of the threat being gone.

Whoever Bill was, he wasn't going to touch him again. She wore only a white tank top, jeans and a some pink clothing wrapped around her arm. Several pistols were on the floor next to her. He could smell the death on her from ten feet away.

"Hey, sweetie. What's your name?" He still stayed close to the ground.

Her head slowly looked back up to him.

"Zoey." Nick felt a sharp pang in his chest. He felt aghast when he felt the protective urge. _She was going to kill me! _

"Don't come any closer. I don't plan on staying alive much longer. Just leave." She raised the gun. Nick was afraid she was going to shoot at him again, but instead the gun rested on her temples.

"All you gotta do is leave."

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**Hm... Somethings missing in this story... Ah well. I'll update again in a week or so.**


	3. A New Start

**Thanks for the Reviews. Sadly, I write only when I can't find a certain type of story I'm looking for. I hope to actually finish this one. :D I have another version of this(up to chapter 7), but its loaded with major smut. No worries, I won't upload it. XD **

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Zoey was in so much pain. Her arm must be broken. That's the only way to explain it. She couldn't move her whole left arm, not even to lift it up a couple inches. So, she covered it the best she could with her jacket, securing it to her body as tightly as she could and used her other hand to shoot with her pistols. When she ran out of ammo, she plans on using the baseball bat she found days ago. Eventually she'd get eaten, and that would be the end. The mall was quiet and so few zombies were around. She was so tired, but knew she'd never sleep again. If she does, she'll die. So eyes open at all times until some horrid infected finally gets her.

It was a weird feeling knowing she never walk outside again, or sleep, or really anything enjoyable. The very thought that she'd die in a dark, smelly mall with her dead friend in the same room as her was incredibly depressing. The feeling was so strong, she yanked the gun up to her head and kept it there. Her finger put pressure on the trigger, but only held it. The longer she sat there, the more she knew she wasn't going to pull the trigger. Becoming more and more frustrated she almost started screaming. Her built up anger stung the back of her eyes. In defeat, she slammed her gun onto the floor. '_God almighty…'_

_

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_****.****_

Drifting in and out of consciousness, Zoey was beginning to feel numb. It was a pleasant feeling, she didn't feel hungry anymore and certainly didn't feel angry. She just wanted to lie down and not wake up when they're munching on her flesh. Unfortunately the pain in her arm kept her in reality.

A shot rang out, then another. Zoey was wide awake now, staring into the dark abyss. '_I heard a shot…didn't I?_' She thought to herself_._

Almost like an answer, another string of bullets went out. This time, she saw a chair across the room get hit.

'_No…no, they're going to alert that horde upstairs.' _Frozen in fear she waited.

"Shit! Smoker's got me!" A man's voice was loud, and she watched him get dragged across the room.

'_There was a smoker up there?'_

More gunfire, and now the horde's screams could be heard everywhere. They're all upstairs, but were already spilling over the edges of the balcony. Thirty or more fell onto their floor, lunging at the few survivors. But surprisingly they all ignored Zoey. Not one zombie came towards her. She watched a spitter upstairs take stance. It was going to shoot at one of the survivors hunched in the corner. A older black man, he looked bald from where she was sitting. She lifted her gun and pointed at the spitter. Letting her frustration go on the spitter, she unloaded. It hit the ground, no longer in sight.

Hoping they didn't notice her, she set her gun back down. The horde was practically obliterated by this point. They worked damn fast, and she was tempted to get their attention. But the last thing she could do is put herself through the heartache of dying comrades. She needed to end this now.

"Bull! We would`a never got this far if we didn't try to help people!" She snapped her head up.

'_What? … they aren't…'._ She heard the younger white guy argue with another slightly older white guy. The younger had brown hair sticking out of his dirty hat. He had a southern accent, and he had somewhat of a baby face. It made her want to call out to them. He wore overalls that were tied around his waist. A woman was backing him up.

She finally got a better look at the guy arguing with southern boy. He had a dirty white suit on, with a bright blue shirt. His dark hair was combed back, and he carried himself with authority. She didn't like the vibe he was giving off. Almost a 'shoot first, questions later' type of man.

She didn't have to worry about them long, they had already began looking around.

The man in the suit was now heading towards her. He had an angry expression and was yanking bodies around, kicking them. He was getting closer to Bill. She didn't want to say anything, but she will not have him messing with that man's body. She watched as he moved from his crouch to a stance, looking around. She felt the prickly sensation on the back of her neck. _'I have no reason to be afraid. __There is nothing they could do that would be worse than the infected.'_

He began walking in her direction, scanning the floor. He stopped in front of Bill's body. His eyes lit up and began to bend towards him. Anger flashed her vision. Pointing her gun, she shot near his feet.

"DON'T! …Don't… touch him…I MEAN IT" Her voice felt unfamiliar and it stung her throat. She almost laughed when they all dropped to the floor, completely in unison.

"Sweetheart, I won't touch him again." His voice was not the same. It felt fake to her, and it pissed her off even more. Choking an angry response down, she counted to three.

"Just please leave Bill alone." Feeling exasperated, all she wanted was them to leave. She was in no mood to be sweet talked. He asked her name, and at first she was going to ignore him. Realizing he would only pry more, she answered.

"Zoey." She looked at him and was startled by the intensity of his blue eyes. He had a small stubble, and thin lips, but the jagged features of his face was all too male. Her own reaction stunned her. She was on her deathbed… -floor, whatever. And she was in no mood for stupid attraction.

Lifting her gun up, she wanted to shoot him, but instead she tensed up.

"Don't come any closer. I don't plan on staying alive much longer. Just leave." Making up her mind, she pressed the cold muzzle of the gun to her temples.

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*****.*****

_'Please, please go away.'_ She kept chanting this over and over in her head.

"Hun, we ain't going nowhere. Now come on out from under there. We can patch you up." This was not the same man. She opened her eyes again to see the black man she tried protecting earlier.

Not answering, she studied their faces. They must of took her silence as something else, because the blue eyed man began to look a bit frantic.

"Zoey, put the gun down. We can help you." She brought her attention to him again.

"What's your name?" Zoey wanted to address them.

"I'm Nick. This is Coach. The guy back there with the lady is Ellis, and she's Rochelle." By this point, they were all standing again. She couldn't remember when they stood back up.

"Well, _**Nick**_. Where in the hell did you find a brush?" It was one of the most startling things about the group. None of the men had long beards, and their hair was brushed. Even in the highlight of her journey, there were no brushes.

The man named Coach busted out laughing.

"This self-absorbed man ALWAYS finds a brush!" He was bent over holding his gut. She then noticed that her gun was on the floor at her side. At some point she had dropped it.

The other two survivors had came closer, now all four were only feet away. Coach finally composed himself when Nick gave him a dirty look.

"Look, I'm in no mood for this. Just let me think." So many mixed emotions, she was unsure on what to do. She planned to die here, and just like that she was given a second chance. She had no idea where Francis and Louis are, if they're still alive. That particular thought was the deciding factor. She needed to find her lost comrades. These people would help her. They might be an unusual group, but so were they once.

"Help me up, would you please?" She held her good arm out towards Nick. Hesitating for only a second, he grabbed her hand.

"What happened to your arm?" Nick asked her as the other picked up her useless weapons.

"Charger." If they stayed together for a while, she might tell him the truth.

"Right, well once we get to a secure room, let me take a look at it. We'll find out what you did to it." She wasn't too excited about that. If it's a dislocated shoulder, it was going to sting when they put it back. If it's broken, then it only puts more emphasis on her mortality.

"Thanks." She mumbled to them.

"Aw, hun. Don't you worry. We'll take good care of you." The woman was very sincere, and she instantly felt connected to her.

"I can barely hold a gun, but if you guys have ammo for this pistol, I can shoot something." She held her good hand out.

"Naw, don't you worry about it. There is plenty of us." Coach gingerly placed his arm under hers and started walking.

"I'm sorry, but we need to get moving, and your hobbling is going to slow us down." He had set a pretty brisk walk, but with him carrying most of her weight it didn't hurt too much to keep up.

The southern guy...Ellis? She hoped that's what his name was, had taken point. Rochelle was behind him, and Nick was close behind her and Coach. They walked for several minutes, uninterrupted.

A Hunter jumped from a top floor throwing off Ellis, but they were able to killed it without an actual pounce. After that, only a few jockeys and almost no common infected to speak of for almost an hour.

They reached a string of stores and the two younger men ducked in and out of them, looking for a place to rest.

"That tux shop has a working bathroom, and a good amount of food and water left. I say we stay here while Zoey patches up." Nick offered. She didn't want to sound too eager, but it was hard to hold back.

"Yes, please. My arm is killing me." She let go of Coach and began walking towards the store, the others following. Once inside, Coach and Ellis were already boarding up the large windows with broken boards and shelves.

"Alright, Zoey. I need you to sit here while I check out that arm of yours." Nick directed her towards a stool. She sat obediently, but was wearily watching him. He towered over her, his hands digging through a bag that Ellis was carrying. He pulled out some bottle with liquid in it.

"We need to clean those cuts of yours too." He shrugged his jacket off, laying it on the floor. Rolling up his sleeves, he dug back into the bag. Zoey watched him with great curiosity. He seemed a bit nicer now, the vision of the man kicking dead bodies fading from her mind. _'Did I imagine that?'_

Finding his targeted object, he turned back to her.

"I need to take that pink thing off, okay?" He began untying the knot, delicately touching her skin. "No major cuts... that's impressive."

"You can yank it off, I'm not a porcelain doll." She suppressed a smile. When their eye's met, he apparently saw the glint of laughter there, because he did just that.

"OH JESUS!" She bit her bottom lip down in pain. "Okay, okay. I was wrong. Never mind, you're the expert." She peered back up at him. He was smiling, a smug look of victory. She would get him back for that, even if she incited it originally.

He finally got the tangled jacket off, and he felt around her swollen limb. He tried moving it, but that wasn't going to happen.

"Yea, it's not going to bend that way." She bit down on her lip again. This time she tasted blood.

"Good news. You only dislocated your shoulder." His light eyes fixed onto hers.

"Don't move, okay?" She braced herself for pain, and she felt him grasp her hand gently, then squeeze hard. He jerked his weight, and a sharp pain shot racked throughout her body. He grabbed her head and buried it into his shoulder. She took the opportunity to scream. It came out only as muffles against the blue fabric. His hand finally released the back of her head and immediately she jerked up, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Ow." She stated simply. "That hurt." He smiled at her response.

"But it feels better, doesn't it?" She slowly tensed the muscles.

"I guess." It felt a lot better, but to hell if she's going to admit it to him.

"There ya go gurl, now you can help us." Ellis leaned over resting his hand on her good shoulder. She felt like sleeping, nothing really else. Nick picked up the pink jacket, shaking it out.

"She needs at least a day to recover, boy." Coach answered him while digging through some food storage in the back.

"Then we'll head out after some sleep. That's the plan then guys." Nick headed towards Coach, picking out a can of tuna. Zoey watched as he smashed the can on the corner of the counter until he punctured it.

"You want some tuna?" Nick offered. Zoey was so hungry she considered eating her shirt a few hours ago.

"Yes. Very much so." He kept smashing it until it finally broke a large enough hole for him to fish out with a plastic spork. Broken can and all, Nick handed her the food. Zoey didn't waste any time wolfing the dry tuna down.

"Oh my God, this is so delicious." Zoey would of licked every finger if her hands weren't so dirty. Her hurt arm was still wrapped securely to her torso to keep from further injury. She struggled to keep the can balanced as she ate.

"Here hun, I'll hold the can." Rochelle finally took pity on her. She thanked her, and finished eating while Rochelle held the can for her.

****.****

* * *

**Before I get mail about it, I know Nick doesn't have blue eyes. But I always imagine him with them. So I added it, Sorry.**


	4. Good Man He Was

**Ah! I seem to be getting off track of the main point. Next chapter will be dead on, I swear! XD**

* * *

Several hours later.

"I've got to wash up."

Zoey thought about ignoring the smell of herself, but her skin actually hurt from all the dried on boomer bile and zombie guts. To prove her point, she dug her nails into her neck, peeling of a thin layer of dried slim. Ellis made a face as she flicked it to the ground.

"Where was the working sink again?"

"It's uh… in the back. What about your shirt? There aren't any other shirts just layin` around…" Zoey let him trail his sentence off as she walked where Ellis had pointed.

"Hey, Rochelle. Can I get your help for a second, please?" She could barely maneuver with the makeshift cast on her arm.

"Sure. What is it you need?" She was in the middle of stitching up her shirt. How and where they found a thread and needle set, she'd never know. These people were amazing at being pack-rats.

"I need help cleaning up."

Rochelle set her needle down and followed Zoey into the bathroom.

"Alright, first I'm gonna need you to get your arm under the sink…" Rochelle turned the water on, and with hand soap and cold water, they were able to scrub most of the slim off. They scrubbed and scrubbed, until she got all the slim off her face, neck, and arms.

After Zoey's skin burned from scrubbing it so hard, all that was left was her tank top and hair.

"Okay, thanks Rochelle. I'm pretty sure I've got it now." Zoey waited while Rochelle dried her hands on her jeans.

"Oh, and if you could tell the boys that I'm changing in here, I don't want any surprises."

Rochelle chuckled, "Yea, Ellis would probably die of embarrassment." She put her finger to her chin. "I'd kinda like to see that." She laughed to point out that it was a joke. Zoey smiled instead.

"Right, well maybe we could trick him into walking in on one of the other boys." The image of Ellis face was enough to make Zoey laugh. "Better not."

Rochelle was still chuckling when she shut the door behind her. Zoey didn't waste any time tearing her shirt off and dunking it into the sudsy water. With her one hand she scrubbed it against the sink, and with horror watched the water turn dark green.

"That's fucking nasty." She drained the water and repeated several times until the water didn't turn colors anymore.

Satisfied enough that her shirt was as clean as it was ever going to be, she rung it out and set it over a stall. Realization hit her like a smack to the face. _I don't have anything to wear. _Deciding it was her only option, she untied her arm and zipped her jacket up to cover her relatively clean bra. Actually, it was her shirt that bore most of the bile, even the jacket wasn't too dirty. Happy enough, she walked out of the bathroom. Rochelle was still stitching, but this time it was Nick's shirt. It was a pretty long tear, almost a foot long across the right breast pocket.

Zoey sat next to Rochelle, the one person that wouldn't ask her questions. She kept humming and Zoey sat on the carpeted floor leaning against the wall. It was pretty comfortable and it gave her a chance to check her surroundings. Ellis was picking something out of his shoe, all of his guns scattered around him. He must be in charge of weapons upkeep…or something. Coach was setting up places to sleep. He found a truckload of suits and tuxes; and it appeared he was throwing them on the floor, making some sort of bed out of them.

She glanced around again to find Nick crouched over his own collection of guns. His broad back was naked, and Zoey was amazed there wasn't any scars or cuts on his upper torso.

"Nick! Your shirts done. Be more careful this time, okay?" Rochelle set his shirt to the side, and begun working on Ellis' hat. Ellis' head popped up and he watched Rochelle like she had his life in her hands.

"You're really into your hat, aren't you?" Zoey wondered outloud.

"Yeaa, it's my pride and joy. Uh…" He looked embarrassed "…Miss."

Zoey laughed. "It's okay that you forgot. I'm Zoey."

"Riiight, right. Zoey. Duh." He tapped his finger against his temple. "Won't forgee`t this time."

"Rochelle, you missed a tear on the side." Nick was still shirtless and must have been checking her work this entire time. When Zoey looked at his chest, she noticed how wrong she was about the cuts. He had a huge scar, deep and bright white across his chest. A peculiar circle shape scar covered the lower left side of his stomach. He had bite marks all across his left arm, those being the only ones that were a light reddish color.

"Damn Nick. Those are some nasty scars you've got." Zoey was still looking at the strange stomach wound. "What's that from?" She instantly felt bad about asking, maybe it was a sour subject.

"Gunshot. Way before this happened." He pointed to the chest scar. "And even more so for these." He rubbed his hand down his arm.

"Someone shot you?" Zoey was aghast. Is that what was happening now?

"Not during the Zombie shit. It was years ago." He turned to Rochelle. "Never mind, I can live with one hole in my shirt."

"We've all got scars Zoey. Lookatta mine." Ellis yanked his shirt off over his head before Zoey could stop him. Like a child at show-in-tell, Ellis thrust his shoulder at her.

"See? Big nasty one got me when we were running to the roof." The scar was incredibly large. It looked like two sets of teeth marks and deep long scratches. "Ya see, it grabbed my shoulder with its claws and then sunk its teeth in me a couple a times. Hurt like a bitch."

"Wow." Zoey said quietly. "That's… uh. Impressive."

Ellis was still looking at his shoulder. Then he smiled,

"Yea, ain't it?" He pulled his shirt back on.

Ellis continued, "Rochelle's got some all over her back from a spitter. That was the worse injury we ever had to deal with." Rochelle never looked up when Ellis was speaking of it.

"But, we made it this far. Who knows how far we'll go?" Ellis was in a cheery mood again, going back to making Molotov's. His long legs folded under him. He looked childlike with the determined expression on his face as he messed with the bottles.

"He's a sweet kid." She said, thinking Rochelle was still behind her.

"Yea, sure. _Sweet_." Nick's voice was what she heard instead. Not that she didn't want to talk to him, it just startled her.

"Um. So how did you guys meet?" She asked only to fill in the silence.

Nick sat down next to her, letting his legs stretch out in front of him. He put his hands on the floor behind him so he was leaning back.

"I met Coach first, and we found Rochelle not a whole day later. Ellis showed around about a week or so after that. Even though we knew he was a bit…childlike, they took him in."

Zoey didn't miss the 'they' part of the story. She turned her head to look at him. His shirt was only half buttoned and he had a loose tie strung about his neck. His hair was disheveled and a light blue bruise was forming under his right eye.

Swallowing she asked "Just they? You wanted no part of it?"

"Well… at first, yes. But strength is in numbers." He was staring at the ceiling. "And we do need numbers."

"Is that why you guys saved me? For numbers?" She wasn't offended. She just need to know their possible loyalty.

Nick turned his head towards her. "And to save you. We weren't going to let you die in that nasty food court."

She smiled back. "Yea… right. Of course."

"You called Ellis a kid. You can't be much older than him." She could tell he was still looking at her even though she had her eyes transfixed on the floor.

"Twenty."

"Yea, well the 'kid' is older than you." Nick laughed.

She chuckled. "Yea, well this infected shit tends to age you a little." Reaching down, she started to take her shoes off.

"Why did you take your brace off? Damnit, you're going to make it pop out again." Nick's mood change startled her.

"Yea, well I needed to wash my shirt. And I'm not walking around shirtless." She caught Ellis looking at her, he went bright red and went back to assembling his rifle.

"Well I guess so. But don't use that arm, okay?" He walked over to the counter and took a tan looking wrap out of the first aid bag. Zoey crossed her legs.

"You want to wrap it up again, don't you?" She sighed.

"Yea. Hold still." He placed her arm across her stomach, and began wrapping.

"After you wake up, take this off and do light exercising. We need to build up the muscle around that ligament." Zoey nodded in understanding.

* * *

****.****

Zoey couldn't even remember being shown where to sleep or actually falling asleep. But she did know when she was being woke up.

"Hey…Hey…. get up." Coach was leaning over her, shaking her by her good shoulder.

"You've been asleep for almost fourteen hours. You gotta get up." He looked a bit worried, but she shrugged him off. She had a small headache, and was groggier than shit, but felt a lot better.

Sitting up she looked around her. Her jacket was a tousled, and she quickly zipped it up before anyone else noticed. The bed of tuxes was unbelievably comfortable. At least it felt that way after sleeping on a stone floor for the last couple of days.

"How you feeling, sunshine?" Nick asked as he strapped a two pipe bombs to his upper leg.

"Fine…" Zoey did feel fine, but was feeling a bit confused. Her arm hurt being confined so close to her body. Agitated, she started ripping it off.

"Slow down. You're only going to hurt yourself. _Again_." Nick had laughter in his eyes.

"I've got it." Zoey mumbled. After unwrapping it, she stretched her arm out. It stung, but still felt better than it had in days.

She felt someone grab her hand, "Give me your other, stretch them out like your flying." When she did, Nick grasped both hands and slowly raised it above her head.

"I know it stings, but it will help." He let her slowly drop her arms. "I want you to baby that while we're out today."

"Ok Dad." She joked

Laughing he patted her head. "That's a good girl."

Zoey headed over to where food was kept.

"What can I have?" She asked Coach. He seemed to be the one in charge.

"Whatever you'd like. I'll be bagging whatever we don't eat in the next hour." He was munching on a bar of chocolate.

She thanked him and picked up a can of garbanzo beans. The top had a leaver to pull to open. She struggled with it for a minute, but it was worth the fight. Attempting to slow down when she was eating was more difficult than she thought, her appetite hadn't been sated from yesterday. Right after the beans, she dug into some canned ravioli.

After she was done eating and was able to drink a good amount of water, she had her weapons and adrenalin set out. She then proceed to find her tank top and put it back on.

She found it in the place she had left it, only this time it was clean and dry. She wasted no time slipping it back on. Walking out she passed a mirror. In horror she saw how dirty her hair was.

Without thinking, she dunked her head under the sink and began rising it. It took her a while, but when she didn't feel any slime, leaves, or broken shards of wood in her hair she rang it out and attempted to style it the best she could around her face.

"Here hun. We've got a brush." Zoey whipped around in excitement to find Rochelle in the doorway.

"Oh thank you!" She started immediately started brushing, but it was quite the workout. She had huge rat's nest in her hair and she didn't want to have to cut it. Unfortunately she did have to borrow scissors to cut only a few inches off the bottom. It was a disgusting mess at the bottom of her hair line, and she knew she couldn't fix it.

Now with relatively clean clothes, brushed hair, and her arm fixed she felt like new.

"Look! She is human." Nick pointed out.

"Har har." She couldn't come up with a proper retort. What was wrong with her? She had a million for Francis, but none for him? Her eyes stung at the thought of the others.

She went over to her supplies and began strapping them in. An auto shotgun, baseball bat, and pistol. Plus a Molotov. And to her delight, a lighter was strapped to the bottle.

"`member to keep that lighter after you use it. Don't throw it with it." Ellis eyed her warily. She laughed.

"Someone threw the lighter? Wow." She could see it now. Moron.

"Uh, well to my defense, I was in a life or death situation. I tend to fo`get." Ellis bit his bottom lip."I didn't mean to."

Nick couldn't help but join in on Zoey's laugh. "It took us days to find a new one too. That's why he's only allowed boomer bile. Can't mess that up." Nick eyed him carefully. "Hopefully anyways."

"Don't you worry now. I'll be real careful." Ellis turned back to what he was doing. He was still smiling though. _Another man who thinks this life is hilarious._ Zoey sighed. Better than the other way around.

* * *

****.****

Nick was more than relieved when they began moving again through the mall. They found more supplies like food, medical crap, and another person. But the shopping strip was still a death trap and they needed to get out. He and Rochelle took point this time, with Ellis and Zoey taking the middle, and Coach taking the rear. This seemed to work out pretty well. Ellis wasn't shooting him yet, which was always a plus. And Zoey was making some good kills. She may be worth this.

He scratched his chin. Well… it was more than that. He couldn't deny the odd attraction to her, though he hated it. She had such intense eyes, they were so earthy. He was use to the blue eyed vixens. Thinking back on his ex wife, Joanna, he smiled, she was a gorgeous vixen though. She was all curves, but even with thinking of her Zoey still crept into his mind. _How is that I can find her more attractive_? Zoey wasn't uncommonly beautiful, and that was only after he saw her cleaned up. It unnerved him as to why he felt like standing next to her instead of Ellis, when she shivered he had to subdue the urge to punch the mechanic as he comforted her with a warm arm on the shoulders. Gritting his teeth, he took his frustration out on a jockey that had jumped on Coach.

"Dammmn, Nick. Settle down. It's dead." Ellis was laughing.

"Shut your mouth, Ellis."

"Ookay."

They walked for while, realizing that there were no more survivors and no more decent supplies they headed for the exit. To get there they had to walk through the biggest room in the mall.

"That's Jimmy Gibbs Jr.'s CAR!" Ellis ran into the glass elevator, plastering his face to the window. His eyes fixed to the blue car downstairs.

"So?" Nick shrugged his shoulders. "A car isn't going to save us, Ellis."

"That's Jimmy Gibb's stock car. Even in an apocalypse, it's worth the stop." Coach was standing behind Ellis, admiring the car as well.

"Why don't we drive it out of here? There is no way we're walking out." Zoey pointed to the doors. She guessed at least several hundred zombies in the lobby. Plus a smoker and charger were on a balcony fighting each other. More must be around.

"It won't have no gas…" Ellis said sadly. "I would KILL to drive that car."

"There has to be a way…" Rochelle started the elevator and the noise immediately alerted the mass of infect at the bottom. Nick sighed.

"Get your chainsaw ready Coach, you're going first out there." He was checking his gun to make sure it was loaded and was working properly.

"HEY! HEY!" Ellis was jumping around excitedly. "Guys there's gas cans set up nearby! Maybe they were gonna use it, or maybe it was to keep a fire going..." His voice blurred into background noise as Nick looked where he was pointing and noticed scorch marks all along the wall on the far side of the building.

"Grab them and pour it in, we won't be havin much time." Coach was barely able to finish his sentence before the doors opened and they were greeted by a smoker. Coach brought his chainsaw down on its shoulders, killing it instantly. A cloud of smoke blinded Nick's vision but he pressed forward. He knew where the car was, and the gas cans weren't far away.

He wielded his machete killing several zombies that awaited them by the car. Ellis was excited but careful as he prepared the car._ Thank-ya God._

They had the tank almost filled, and the girls were already loading up in the car. Bags and bags of supplies were thrown in the trunk, and they climbed in the back.

"We gotta go people!" Coach was yelling at Ellis, who was across the room digging up a lonely gas can that had been looked over.

As the young man was sprinting towards them, a loud roar rang over all the zombie screams.

"Jesus! Ellis HURRY!" Nick slammed the door on Zoey and Rochelle who were now stuck in the back. He ran towards the mechanic, pulling out his AK.

The tank burst out of a side room, shooting the shattered remains of the door twenty feet out. Its only target appeared to be Ellis, who was not too far ahead of it.

"Oh man, oh man!" He dropped the gas can and shot it with his pistol. Flames built a wall between the tank and the rest of them, but it was not enough. Although it was now on fire, it didn't slow down.

Finally meeting up in the middle, Nick grabbed Ellis by the neck of his shirt.

"Just run you son-of-a-bitch!" Ellis had frequently stopped to shoot and it was going to cost someone their life.

Coach was still firing nearby, and Nick yelled at him to run.

It happened so fast, but he seemed to have watched it in slow motion. The massive inflamed arm grabbed Coach around the shoulders and neck and lifted him over his head.

"COOOACCHHH! NOO!" Rochelle had freed herself and was running wildly towards them screaming.

The Tank threw him like a rag doll. His body hit the wall thirty feet above the stock car. Nick watched in horror as his lifeless body hit the ground. The cracking noise almost made him sick.

Rochelle was screaming and crying, but Ellis grabbed her and ran to the car. Nick ran to Coach and dragged him to the car. Ellis was already starting the car while Rochelle sobbed in Zoey's arms in the back seat. Nick pulled Coach into the passenger seat with him.

"We're not going to let you die here alone Coach." Nick squeezed in the middle and Coach leaned heavily against the door, coughing and groaning.

"This is it guys, I'm done." He had blood pouring out of his nose, and had obviously broken his arm and both legs.

Ellis slammed on the gas, ramming the glass windows that adorned the west side of the building. Nick heard the glass shattering and by the grace of God he never felt any tires go flat.

Coach sputtered, and coughed for a long time. Nick tried to help him the best he could, but Coach was just in too much pain. After a while, he demanded that they stop.

"There arn't any infected around. Let me out." Coach's shirt was covered in blood. Ellis pulled over and hopped out of the driver seat.

"Come on man, I'll help you." Between Nick and Ellis they were able to get him outside. Coach asked them to sit him in the grass with his back against a tree.

"I'm going to give you guys two options, and both will suck. But trust me when I say I need this." His dark eyes set on Nick. Ellis was shaking next to Nick, obviously aware of what he was going to ask.

"We can't... come on Coach, we could patch you up..." Ellis knelt at his feet.

"I've got two broken legs, boy. I've got some nasty internal bleeding, and I can barely breath. Its the end for me." He smiled at the young man and then turn his attention back to Nick.

"Shot me, or leave me."


	5. Promotion

**Thank you so much for the Reviews. I'm just rewriting some of the chapters. So the updates should come pretty quickly now. :D**

****.*****

Nick stared at Coach for a long time. Ellis sat at his feet motionless, with his face in his hands. Nick had only did away with one person in his lifetime. At least before the infection hit. Even though he was keeping up the I-don't-care facade up, he didn't sleep for months afterwords. And that was all on self defense!

"You know I'm not going to leave you here to suffer." Nick kept his eyes on Coach's.

"I know. That's why I gave you two options when I only want one." Coach replied grimly.

Hearing Ellis whimper, he looked towards him.

"Stand up, boy. You're not my wife, and you're not my kid. You have no reason to be so damn sad." Coach's voice was soft even if his words were harsh.

"You're still my friend, man. It ain't like I cryin or nothing." Even while saying this Ellis had his back turned from the car and the two men. His arms ridged and his fists closed tightly.

Coach's coughing brought Nick's mind back to the horrible task ahead of him. He watched Coach hack and spit up blood.

"Fuck... Fuck!" Nick pulled his pistol out. Checking to make sure it's loaded, he pointed it at Coach's head.

"Ellis. Boy, I want you to tell the girls I told Nick to do this. You don't need animosity in the group over this." Coach closed his eyes and leaned against the tree.

Ellis mumbled a yes and kept his eyes to the ground.

Nick could see his own hand tremble. The gun kept wobbling, the clinking noises were startling loud in the woods.

When he killed that man… when Nick killed that twenty year old _kid_, It was only because he was at gunpoint. That kid was going to kill him for his stupid fucking Mercedes.

This was different. Coach and him never really got along, but they were comrades. Not everyone in the army loved each other, but you came to respect those you fought with. And here, with Coach's eyes closed, he was doing one more favor for Nick. Coach was going to die, and he still had the bravery to have his lids closed, with nobody to comfort him so Nick wouldn't have to look him in the eye before he took his life.

The clinking got louder.

"God Damnit, Harold. I don't want to do this." Nick found it only appropriate to use his real name now.

"You can't expect Ellis to do it. I trust you to make it quick and painless." Coach's voice was soft.

"Thank you for getting us this far. We'll miss you." Then Nick pulled the trigger. The bullet went straight through his head, the impact ricocheted his cranium off the tree. Before Coach landed on his side, Nick put another bulled through his heart. The two shots were only milliseconds between each other.

After the second shot, a scream sounded off in the car. Ellis dropped to the ground, his face now in the crook of his arm. Nick stood there motionless. He needed to see what he did, so he never lost his humanity. He never wants the feeling of killing someone to be easy. To get use to it. Nick's chest tightened, the gun stinging painfully in his hand as he squeezed it. Coach's lifeless body burning a picture into his memory.

He could hear the door being kicked open and Rochelle's pained sobs and curses. Nick wasn't surprised when she grabbed him by the back of his shirt and ripped him around to face her. The butt of her gun smacked against his cheek, knocking him to the ground.

Nick landed on his hands and knees. Her weak hit didn't knock him out, but it hurt like hell. Though it was only a background ache to the actual pain of what he just did.

Zoey was leaning over Rochelle, trying to calm her down.

"That muthafucker. That Muthafucker!" Rochelle kept beating the ground with her gun.

"How could you do that? He saved your fucking life!" She pointed the gun at him. Nick never looked up at her and she finally dropped it.

"You shoulda talked him out of it. We could of done something." He could barley understand her over her sobs.

"Like w`at? Let him die slowly? No gurl, this was the best way. And he asked Nick to do it. Nobody else." Ellis was facing them, his eyes red but no wet tears to confirm the crying.

As the three stood there, nobody really looking at anyone else, Zoey got up to pull the tarp out of the trunk and carefully wrapped Coach in it. She grabbed a few wild flowers and set them next to him. Zoey stood by his feet and mourned in silence. Rochelle finally stood up and stood next to the body.

"God I will miss you Coach. I'll miss you so much." She knelt by his wrapped body and leaned on his chest. The crying was so pitiful that Zoey felt herself tearing up. Zoey closed her eyes shut, attempting to think of anything but Bill's death.

Nick was still on the ground, his hand on his forehead. He was trying to put his companion's death in the back of his mind so he could come up with a plan. He needed to find his sister, but now he was probably going to take the place of Coach in the group. Zoey was too new to be leader, and no way could Ellis do it, considering the boy only asked 'what are we gonna do now' every ten minutes. Rochelle might, but not in the near future. She was far too distraught.

Rochelle's cries became louder and Nick knew they had to move.

"Rochelle. I know you're mad at me, but we have to go. We've made too much noise. There will be a horde if we don't get moving soon."

"Mad? That doesn't even fucking describe it!" She roared at him. He watched her unflinchingly.

"He's dead. There isn't a damn thing we can do about that now. We have to get _moving_." Nick didn't wait for her response as he walked to the car. Ellis was the first to follow Nick.

Zoey leaned in towards the distraught woman.

"Rochelle. He's in a better place. He was in so much pain…" She knew it was risky trying to comfort her. More than likely she would just yell in her face. But instead she shook her head in understanding. Maybe the anger was all drained out screaming at Nick.

Rochelle said her final goodbyes and stood.

"Let's get in the car before any of us have to join Coach." Rochelle's eyes were all puffy.

Zoey and Rochelle climbed into the backseat. Nick stood well away from Rochelle until she was in the car. Ellis hopped in behind the wheel, and Nick sat in the passenger seat. Nick had cleaned the blood off the seat the best he could with a mud soaked towel.

The car finally lurched forward, and everyone remained silent.

* * *

****.****

Zoey could feel the hurt and hatred emanating off of Rochelle. Nick still gave her wide berth, and Ellis hadn't said a word since their stop. She swallowed the panic that was creeping up. They would recover. She had, it would just take them a while.

They stopped at a grocery store after forty-seven hours of straight driving. The last hour was spent stopping at gas stations, and by a miracle, they found enough gas to keep them going. Ellis drove for the majority, but near the end Nick drove. She asked to take over, but both men reassured her they had it. Nick mumbled something about 'crazed women drivers'.

'_Fine_' she had thought. If they want to torture themselves over a silly stereotype, then they can go right ahead. She'd sleep comfortably in the back seat instead.

Zoey watched Nick as he attempted to keep awake by splashing water on his face.

"I vote on stayin here `night." Ellis was already digging out a warm bottled Coke.

"It's got workin water. That's enough for me." Nick took his white jacket off, slinging over the stool by a register. "We're gonna need to board up the doors though. Lucky for us, it looks like someone was just here and took care of any windows."

Zoey set the duffel bag of supplies down from the car at the mouth of isle seven. She opened it, digging out a bottled water and chugged it. She offered what little of it was left to Nick when he came close.

"No thanks, I just want a blanket. I'm exhausted." Nick dug into the same bag, pulling out his item. The bedspread was a faded blue, with rips and stains on it. Zoey crinkled her nose.

"Hey. It works." Zoey blushed at being caught making faces.

"I understand. It would be kinda hypocritical of me to judge you. I slept under a table." Nick gave her a grim smile.

"Yea. Well, goodnight."

"Night." She watched him walk into the isle, and plop down. He pulled a box of cereal off the shelf and use that as a pillow. Within minutes he seemed to have fallen asleep.

"Really? Are you serious? I thought he was gonna help me do this too…" Ellis had handfuls of boards, most dirty or broken.

"I'll help. Do you have nails?" Zoey jumped at the opportunity to do something_ -anything-_ to get her mind off of the man sleeping several feet away.

"Pshhh, gurl, I've got nails up the ass." Ellis set a bottle with different sized nails shoved in it.

"We take all the nails we use when we leave. They're like gold now." He began boarding the door up, using the bottom of a can as a hammer.

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Zoey sat in the dark, the moonless sky blacking out the whole store. She could barely see the blue car within the fading parking lot lights. The electricity in the store hadn't been working, so everyone laid down once dusk hit. Ellis leaned heavily against a window. He had a Doctor Seuss book open towards the lonely lot light. He had his face inches away, his eyes squinted and his mouth was moving as he read the words in his head. She smiled. Ellis was a rare find, most people were crazy or angry. He had somehow kept his child-like innocents.

He was taking watch with her, and Nick was up to replace her in an hour. Thinking of him, she glanced over to his sleeping form. He had gotten up after a couple hours of sleep to take off his blue shirt. She felt her face turn red when he caught her looking at his muscles through the white tank. He snickered, and she stuck her tongue at him. It was a goofy response, but he laughed nonetheless.

He laid now with his head resting on his arm. He looked more peaceful than he had in the last two days. There was a nasty purple mark forming around his cheek. It could have been a shadow with the lack of light, but Rochelle had hit him pretty hard.

She observed him sleep, confident no zombies were going to sneak up on them. And Ellis was too involved in his book to notice her watch him.

Nick was suddenly jerking his head back and forth. He was mumbling, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. His legs were making small movements and Zoey was wondering if he was dreaming. Then he rolled over on his back, his head no longer being pillowed by his arm. She frowned, watching him. He was scowling in his sleep, and a muscle was working at the corner of his mouth. And then, as she watched, he sat bolt upright. His eyes opened to stare blankly at nothing. The muscles in his arms rippled as he grasped nothing at his sides.

"No!" He cried, his voice hoarse. "God, no!"

Zoey jumped at his cry, staring at him. He was shaking… it was a nightmare, she realized as she abandoned her post and the gun to rush to his side.

"Nick!" She took hold of his shoulder, giving it a hard shake. "Nick, wake up!" His face turned toward her as she knelt beside him, and for a moment she thought she had gotten through to him. But his open eyes were still blind.

"Nick!" She said again, and then his arms were coming around her, pulling her onto his lap, and he was hugging her to him. His hold was rough and painful, the strength of it threatening to pop her shoulder, but she didn't care. Her heart ached for the pain that had caused him to reach for her. She freed her arms, and looped them around his neck, holding him close. Her hands came up to stroke the smooth black hair. He burrowed his face into her shoulder. To her horror, she thought she heard the ragged indrawing of a sob.

"Nick, hunny," she whispered into his hair. "It's all right. it's all right, sweetie. Shhhh."

He continued to hold her so tightly she could hardly breathe, his arms imprisoning her torso like a straitjacket. Over his head she saw that Ellis was watching, his eyes huge. Zoey held a finger to her lips when he would have spoken. Zoey continued to stroke his hair. A tenderness like nothing she had ever known crept over her as she held him. Mister rough-and-tough, like a child in her arms.

"Shhhh, now…" She had been crooning to him when he suddenly stiffened. She felt the change in him with every nerve in her body. Abruptly, he sat up, half a head taller than her even though she sat on his lap, and stared right into her eyes. He was awake, she saw, and started to smile at him, all gentleness and concern. He glared at her, his ice cold blue eyes hard beneath his brows. Zoey could only look back in surprise.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he growled.

"You..you were having a nightmare," Zoey could only explain the sudden anger because he might be confused.

"And? What the hell has it got to do with you?" He didn't wait for her response, shoving her off his lap.

"What?" Zoey was still confused and now slightly hurt.

"I'll stand watch now, go to bed." And with that he picked up the gun and strode off to the other side of the store.

Zoey was in shock. She looked at Ellis who was scratching his head.

"Did I do something wrong?"

Ellis shook his head. "He prolly just mad `cuz you tried to make him feel better." Ellis gave her a gentle smile, like he was explaining to a child why her toy got taken away.

"Men like him don't like to be comforted, Zoey. He prides in bein` a manly man. And he defiantly don't like being seen like that with a woman he likes so much."

Zoey scoffed. "Really? Because he fooled me."

Ellis shook his head. "You have no idea do ya`?" He walked over to her and crouched down.

"He talks about you when you're asleep. He asks me what me and you talk about." He scrunched up his nose."He got real pissed when I asked him why he was so interested."

Zoey tried to absorb all of this."What did you tell him?"

Ellis smiled. "Nothing. We hadn't really talked too much. At least not about our past. When I told him this he`d give me a dirty look. Asks me why I don't care."

"…Really?" Zoey kept staring at her hands.

"Yeaaaa, and when I told him he should ask if care so much, he told me to fuck off." Ellis chuckled. "He don't ever act like that about any other girl we were around. He likes you. And he's waay too prideful to admit it."

Zoey glanced around for Nick, but he was just out of sight, his face hidden by a row of shelves.

"You like `em, don't ya?" Ellis was leaning in closer, like it was a huge secret.

"Well yes, kind of. But I don't want to talk about that Ellis. It's a lady's business." She knew by saying this, Ellis' gentlemanly attitude would win over his curiosity.

"Oh, yea, of course." He stood up and excused himself.

"I gots me a book to finish anyways." He laughed at himself as he took his post.


End file.
